The transportation of vehicles over long distances is facilitated by the use of vehicle lifting devices, comprising cradle means, which enable a vehicle to be rolled over and supported on its side in a raised position. Such vehicle lifting devices permit substantial reductions in the space required for the transportation of the vehicles by road, rail, air or sea. The use of these devices also allows vehicles to be easily displayed, at car shows and in showrooms, without the necessity of removing any of the operative parts of the vehicle.
The use of a vehicle lifting device having cradle means for raising a vehicle by a sideways tilting or rolling action is disclosed in Canadian Pat. No. 917,135 and corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,252 to Crabtree and Horacek. The cradle means therein disclosed has a pair of single or double curved bearers with means for attaching the bearers to a vehicle wheel hub. A cross-bar is then attached to a pair of cradle means affixed to the front and rear wheel hubs on one side of the vehicle, to form a bracing stay. When the bracing stay is in position, the vehicle can be rolled over and supported on its side.
The vehicle lifting device disclosed in the aforementioned Canadian and U.S. patents sets out, as the means for attaching the bearers to the vehicle, an inwardly extending flanged bracket which is mounted on the wheel studs of the wheel mounting hub after the wheel has been removed. The flanged brackets has holes or slots formed therein, within which to receive the wheel studs. Because the number of wheel studs varies from four to five in number, depending on the vehicle, it is necessary to have two kinds of flanged brackets and to replace the brackets when the cradles are used with differently sized vehicles. In addition, the existing flanged brackets may have their flanges bent, or may cause the wheel studs to break off the vehicle, if the brackets are improperly installed or repeatedly used without proper checks. Furthermore, the need to remove the tire and wheel, before the cradle means can be affixed to the vehicle, necessitates additional steps which are time consuming and which require additional equipment to lift the vehicle.
The previously disclosed device also requires additional means of support, such as steel arms or supports in contact with the wheelhouse frame, to stabilize the front wheels of vehicles which do not have locking steering mechanisms.
The previously disclosed device also requires that a cross-bar, tying the front and rear cradles together, be used if the front and back wheels are to remain parallel to each other, and that a vertical safety leg or brake be affixed to the cradle to prevent the vehicle from rolling back onto its wheels after it has been turned onto its side.